Shifting rail for carriage-seats.



PATENTED Nov. 10; 1 9o3.

J. CUMMINGS. SHIPTING RAIL FOR, CARRIAGE SEATS;

APPLIUATION FILED HAHN 5, 1903. a

Nb MODEL.

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UNITED STATES Patented November 10, 1903.

PATENT FFICE.

JOHN'CUMMINGS, on GRAND RAP DsMIoHIeAN, ASSIGNOR or ONE-HALF TO ALFREDD. RATHBONE, JR, on GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN.

SHIFTING RAIL FOR CARRIAGE-SEATS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 743,621, dated November10, 1903.

I Application filed March 5, 1903. Serial No. 146,359. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN Oumtmca'a citizen of the United States,residing at'Grand Rapids, in the county of Kent and State of Michigan,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shifting Rails forCarriage-Seats; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention relates to improvements in shifting rails forcarriage-seats 3 and its object is to provide the same with meanswhereby it may be quickly attached or detached; to provide the same withfastening means that will not become loosened by use; to provide asimple, strong, and durable device, and to provide the same with certainnew and useful featureshereinafter more fully described, andparticularly pointed out in the. claims.

Myinvention consists,essentially, in a shifting rail to which thecarriage-top is attached and provided with fixed hooks to engagesuitable projections on the seat and also having pivoted hooks to engageother projections on the seat, said pivoted hooks having flexible leversto operate the same and means for se-. curing these levers undertension, whereby the pivoted "hooks tend to take up all wear and slackin the device and are readily re leased as occasion requires, and in thecombination and arrangement of parts, as will more fully appear byreference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a planView of a carriage-seat with my device attached; Fig. 2, an endelevation of the same; Fig. 3, a front elevation of the same; Fig. 4, adetail in section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5, the same on theline- 5 5 of Fig. 2; Fig. 6, a detail of a modified construct-ioncorresponding to Fig. 4:; Fig. 7, a detail in plan view of .one end ofthe seat with the shifting rail detached, and Fig. 8 an and elevationofthe shifting rail detached.

Like letters refer to like parts in all of the figures.

A represents a carriage-seat of any suitable construction and having endirons B projecting over the ends of the seat ashort distance, as shownin Fig. 7, and back irons having rearwardly-projecting pins or lugs G toengage and hold the back part of the shifting rail. The seat is alsoprovided at each end with a suitable rod E, arranged substantiallyparallel with the upper edge of the seat and turned inward at each end,as at E, and connected to the respective irons B and O.

The shifting rail proper consists of a suitable bar benttwicesubstantially at right annot herein shown and forms no part of mypresent invention.

To detachably secure this rail in place, it is provided with hooks J toengage suitable projections formed by the inwardly-turned rear ends ofthe bars E and pivoted hooks H to engage the outwardly-projecting endsof the irons B. These pivoted hooks and the end B of the bar B are madeinclined, as shown in Fig. 8, and the hooks J are also inclined to thebar E, so that the projection E is wedged between this hook and the bar,and contacting inclined surfaces of the pivoted hook H and projections Btend to force the rail backward, whereby any slack in the fastenings isconstantly taken up and all loosening or rattling thereof is prevented.To 0perate the hooks H, they-are each provided with a lover I, which ismade flexible and provided with a hook I at its free end to pass beneathand engage the rail F, and the parts are so proportioned that when therail is attachedin place and the said hook is thus engaged the leverwill be flexed and under tension, and thus constantly tend to force thehook H against the inclined under surface B" of the iron B. The forwardend of the rod E serves to prevent the forward end of the rail F frommoving outward and becoming detached. This rod may, however, bedispensed with and a downward extension 13' of the end of the iron 13and an upward ICO extension H of the hook added, as shown in Fig. 6, toprovide interlocking parts to accomplish the same results. I prefer,however, to use the rod E, as itaffords a stronger construction andserves, together with the fixed rail A, to prevent anything from comingin contact with the lever I and accidentally detaching the same.

This rail is well supported at the rear angle by the projection E, andthe pins D serve also to hold the rear of the rail down where theyengage the same, whereby a strong and reliable support for the studs Gis provided to enable them to properly sustain the top.

In addition to providing fastenings that will not rattle and will notbecome loose by Wear it is obvious that these fastenings are alsodetached by merely releasing the hooks I and raising the levers I. Thisshifting rail and the carriage-top can thus be instantly removed orreplaced without recourse to any tools and has no loose parts to becomeloosened, detached, or lost.

Having thus fully described my invention, What I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. As an article of manufacture, the combination of a shifting railadapted to support a carriage-top, fixed hooks and pivoted hooks on therail and adapted to engage projections on the respective ends of acarriage-seat and secure the rail in place, flexible levers attached tothe pivoted hooks, and hooks on the ends of said levers adapted toengage the rail and hold the lever in tension.

2. The combination of a shifting rail adapted to support a carriage-top,a carriage-seat having projections, fixed hooks and pivoted hooks on therail to engage the projections, flexible levers to operate the pivotedhooks and hooks on the lever to engage the rail and hold the leversunder tension.

3. The combination of ashifting rail adapted to support a carriage-top,a carriage-seat, fixed hooks on the rail, projections on the seat toengage said hooks, pivoted hooks on the rail, projections on the seatand having inclined surfaces to engage the pivoted hooks, and flexiblemeans for holding the pivoted hooks in engagement with the said inclinedsurfaces.

4. The combination of a carriageseat having outwardly-projecting endirons, and up- Wardly-projecting rear irons, a shifting rail extendingacross the back and at each side of the seat, pins in the rear ironsengaging the rail, pivoted hooks on the rail engaging the end irons,flexible levers to operate the hooks, and means for holding the leversun' der tension.

5. The combination of a carriage-seat, end irons attached thereto andprojecting outward therefrom, rear irons attached to the seat, rods ateach side of the seat and turned inward and connected to the end andrear irons at its respective ends, a shifting rail adapted to support acarriage-top, fixed hooks on the shifting rail and engaging theinwardly-turned ends of the rods, pivoted hooks on the shifting rail andengaging the projecting ends of the end irons, and means for turning andholding the pivoted hooks.

6. In combination with a carriage-seat, end irons attached thereto andprojecting outward therefrom and having inclined under surfaces, outwardprojections at the rear of the seat and rearward projections at the backof the seat, a shifting rail adapted to support a carriage-top andextending at the sides and rear of the seat and engaged by said rearprojections, fixed hooks having inclined surfaces engaging the endprojections, pivoted hooks engaging the inclined surfaces of the endirons, flexible levers on the hooks, and hooks on the end of the leversto engage the rail and hold the pivoted hooks in engagement.

7. The combination of acarriage-seat having outwardly-projecting endirons and upwardly-projecting rear irons, rods having in- Wardlyturnedends connected to the end irons and rear irons, studs in the rear irons,a shifting rail adapted to support a carriagetop and extending at thesides and across the back of the seat and engaged by studs in the rearirons, hooks on the rail and engaging the inwardly-turned ends of-therods, pivoted hooks on the rail engaging the end of the end irons,flexible levers on said hooks, hooks on the levers and engaging therail, and a fixed rail supported by the end and rear irons.

In testimony whereof I 'affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' JOHN CUMMINGS. Witnesses:

LUTHER V. MOULTON, GEORGIANA CHAoE.

